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Film Screening, Discussion of Railroad Documentary

February 21, 2013 — University of Wyoming historian Phil Roberts and retired
Geography Professor Larry Ostresh will be among panelists during a film
screening and discussion of the PBS documentary, “End of Track,”
Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. at the historic railroad depot at First and Kearney
streets.

The documentary will have its premiere on Wyoming PBS
Sunday, March 10, at 7 p.m.

“End of Track” is the story of the Transcontinental
Railroad's construction march across southern Wyoming and the growing pains of
a state in its infancy.

“It's a story of incredible engineering achievements and
boisterous ‘Hell on Wheels’ towns,” according to a Wyoming PBS promotion. “(It’s)
a story of greed and corruption, murder and mayhem; of a clash of cultures and
Native American retaliation. But it's also a story of hope and ambition,
determination and unimagined success.”

The program follows the progress of the surveyors and
engineers, the graders and tracklayers -- from Cheyenne to Evanston -- in 1868.
It delves into the lives of merchants and saloon keepers, gamblers and outlaws,
new residents and famous visitors. Along the way, the story moves up vertically
in time at various locations to fully explore how the railroad changed the
lives of people along its path.

Producer Tom Manning also is a panelist. Anna Lee Ames
Frohlich, descendant of Union Pacific chief financier Oakes Ames, will moderate
the discussion, which is hosted by Laramie County Community College and Wyoming
PBS.